Queensland man has been in a coma for three months after contracting necrotizing pancreatitis caused by mold

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A Queensland man spent three months in a coma and has long-term medical problems which he says stemmed from exposure to mold in his rental unit.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: A Queensland man suffers serious health problems after suspecting he was exposed to mold.

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Terence Clay, 33, had lived in the unit at Sherwood in Brisbane for two years before falling ill with breathing difficulties in January.

“It developed into a feeling almost like a heart attack over the next two weeks. I said to my brother, ‘I think I’m having a heart attack,'” Clay told 7NEWS.com.au.

He was taken to the hospital and said: “The last thing I remember is all these surgeons and doctors around me”.

“Apparently I died for a few minutes, my brother told me, and then they resuscitated me and put me in a three-month medically-induced coma,” he said.

According to medical documents from 7NEWS.com.au, Clay was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis and had a tracheotomy done.

“My pancreas melted away from the bacteria. So I have about 10 percent of my pancreas left,” he said.

“As a result, I have type 1 diabetes and extreme PTSD.

“The fact that I came out without brain damage is apparently a miracle.”

While medical documents don’t directly link his illness to mold, Sunshine Coast doctor Sandeep Gupta, a mold disease expert, says the substance could potentially cause necrotizing pancreatitis.

“There are some animal studies showing that various mycotoxins (toxins from mold species) can severely damage the pancreas, as happened in this case, but there is no firmer evidence linking pancreatitis to mold exposure,” Gupta told 7NEWS . com.au in a statement.

“However, I certainly wouldn’t rule out the possibility.”

Clay, who suffers from ongoing health issues as a result of his ordeal, has accused his landlords of not properly addressing the mold issue after he raised it with them.

He said when he first alerted them to mold in the unit in August 2021, a landlord painted it over and took no further steps to remove it.

He has contacted the law firm of Maurice Blackburn to discuss his legal options.

“Renters have the right to expect the property they live in to be free of indoor mold and the health risks it poses,” Alistair Lord, an employee of Maurice Blackburn, told 7NEWS.com.au.

“If a renter develops long-term health problems as a result of mold in their rent, they may be entitled to seek compensation for their injuries in the form of a legal claim.”